Message Translations

ABSTRACT

Systems for translating text messages in an instant messaging system comprise a translation engine for translating text messages into a preferred language of a recipient of the text messages. The systems are preferably configured to send and receive the text messages and to determine whether the text messages that are received in a source language are in the preferred language of the recipients so that the text messages are displayed in the preferred language of the recipients of the text messages. Other systems and methods are also provided.

This application is a continuation of prior application Ser. No.14/884,103 filed Oct. 15, 2015, which is a continuation of priorapplication Ser. No. 14/631,540 filed Feb. 25, 2015, and issued as U.S.Pat. No. 9,218,340 on Dec. 22, 2015, which is a continuation of priorapplication Ser. No. 14/178,914 filed Feb. 12, 2014, and issued as U.S.Pat. No. 9,002,697 on Apr. 7, 2015, which is a continuation of priorapplication Ser. No. 13/755,903 filed Jan. 31, 2013, and issued as U.S.Pat. No. 8,688,433 on Apr. 1, 2014, which is a continuation of priorapplication Ser. No. 10/364,704 filed Feb. 10, 2003, and issued as U.S.Pat. No. 8,392,173 on Mar. 5, 2013, the disclosures of which are hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is generally related to communications and, moreparticularly, is related to real-time and near real-time communications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There exists a growing popularity in instant messaging services. Instantmessaging is a real-time based communication method using the World WideWeb and/or the Internet to create a group to which members of the grouputilize a computing device to communicate with each other via chatsessions. Chat sessions can take place between two users or groups ofusers. The chat session may involve members from different cultures whospeak different languages. Researchers have estimated that over eightypercent of Internet content and traffic, including Instant Messages (IM)and E-mail is in English, while over forty-five percent of the worldpopulation neither speaks nor reads English. Thus, there exists anEnglish-to-non-English language barrier.

In addition, not all non-English speaking people speak the samelanguage. This causes a parallel barrier between each of the majorlanguage groups. The existence of these barriers can cause delays inreal-time (e.g., Instant Message) or near real-time (e.g., E-mail)communications.

Thus, a heretofore-unaddressed need exists for a solution that addressesthe aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiments of the present invention provide systems andmethods for translating text messages.

Briefly described, in architecture, one preferred embodiment of asystem, among others, can be implemented as follows. A system fortranslating text messages in an instant messaging system comprises aprocessing device configured as a translation engine for translatingtext messages into a preferred language of recipients of the textmessages. The processing device is further configured to output the textmessages for display in a preferred language selected by recipients ofthe text messages. A display device is coupled to the processing deviceand configured to display the text messages in the preferred language ofthe recipients.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention can also be viewed asproviding methods for deploying a text message translation system. Inthis regard, one embodiment of such a method, among others, can bebroadly summarized by the following steps; receiving a text message in asource language; determining whether the source language is similar to apreferred destination language; translating the text message into thepreferred destination language when the source language is not similarto the preferred destination language; and outputting the text messagein the preferred destination language for display.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention can also be viewed asproviding methods for establishing language preferences. In this regard,one embodiment of such a method, among others, can be broadly summarizedby the following steps; receiving an identification of a preferredlanguage from a user; and saving an indication of the preferredlanguage.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponexamination of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description, and be within the scopeof the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with reference tothe following drawings. The components in the drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present invention. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting a preferred embodiment of a systemin which text message translations may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a preferred embodiment of anillustrative example of a text message translations system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram depicting an illustrative example of a languagepreferences table of a text message translations system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an illustrative example of a chat window inEnglish for IM user #1 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an illustrative example of a chat window inSpanish for IM user #2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart depicting general functionality of a preferredembodiment for implementing a language preference setup in a textmessage translation system.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart depicting general functionality of a preferredembodiment for implementing a text message translation system.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart depicting more specific functionality of apreferred embodiment for implementing a text message translation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for deploying a text messagetranslations system. To facilitate description of the inventive system,an example system that can be used to implement the systems and methodsfor deploying a text message translations system is discussed withreference to the figures. Although this system is described in detail,it will be appreciated that this system is provided for purposes ofillustration only and that various modifications are feasible withoutdeparting from the inventive concept. For example, while severalembodiments are described in connection with these drawings, there is nointent to limit the invention to the embodiment or embodiments disclosedherein. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives,modifications, and equivalents. Additionally, while the followingdescription and accompanying drawing specifically describe translationof instant messaging text, it will be clear to one of ordinary skill inthe art that the systems and methods presented herein may be extended totranslating other messaging protocols such as voice-over Internetprotocol (VoIP), video conferences, electronic mail (E-mail), etc. Afterthe example system has been described, an example of the operation ofthe system will be provided to explain one manner in which the systemcan be used to provide for the deployment of a text message translationssystem.

Referring now in more detail to the drawings, in which like numeralsindicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 is ablock diagram depicting a preferred embodiment of a system 100 in whichtext message translations may be implemented. As shown in thenonlimiting example, a user having an IM configured processing device101 wishes to have a chat session with another user having an IMconfigured processing device 103 utilizing a communications network 108.The communications network 108 may be any type of network employing anynetwork topology, transmission medium, or network protocol. For example,such a network may be any public or private packet-switched or otherdata network, including the Internet, circuit-switched network, such asa public switch telecommunications network (PSTN), wireless network, orany other desired communications infrastructure and/or combination ofinfrastructure. In a preferred embodiment, the communications network108 is configured as the Internet and includes servers (not shown) forprocessing services such as Instant Messaging and E-mail, among others.

The processing devices 101, 103 includes client applications 102, 104(hereinafter referred to as client or clients) that can be implementedin software (e.g., programming stored on a medium, firmware, etc.),hardware, or a combination thereof. In the preferred embodiments, theclients 102, 104 are implemented in software as an executable program,and executed by a special or general purpose digital computer, such as apersonal computer (PC; IBM-compatible, Apple-compatible, or otherwise),workstation, minicomputer, or mainframe computer.

Generally, in terms of hardware architecture, each processing device101, 103 includes, inter alia, a processor 105, 107 and memory 109, 111.Input and/or output (I/O) devices 115, 117 (or peripherals), videoadapters 119, 121, local input interfaces 123, 125 can becommunicatively coupled to a local interface 127, 129. The localinterface 127, 129 can be, for example but not limited to, one or morebuses or other wired or wireless connections, as is known in the art.The local interface 127, 129 may have additional elements, which areomitted for simplicity, such as controllers, buffers (caches), drivers,repeaters, and receivers, to enable communications. Further, the localinterface 127, 129 may include address, control, and/or data connectionsto enable appropriate communications among the aforementionedcomponents.

The I/O devices 115, 117 may preferably include input devices, forexample but not limited to, a keyboard, mouse, scanner, microphone, etc.In a preferred embodiment, a keyboard and/or pointing device 130, 132 iscoupled to the local input interface 123, 125. Furthermore, the I/Odevices 115, 117 may also include output devices, for example but notlimited to, a printer, display, etc. In a preferred embodiment, adisplay 134, 135 is coupled to the video adapter 119, 121. In anexample, the display 134, 135 is configured to include a chat window138, 140. Finally, the I/O devices 115, 117 may further include devicesthat communicate both inputs and outputs to the network 108, forinstance but not limited to, a modulator/demodulator (modem; foraccessing another device, system, or network), a radio frequency (RF) orother transceiver, a telephonic interface, a bridge, a router, etc.

The processor 105, 107 is preferably a hardware device for executingsoftware, particularly that stored in memory 109, 111. The processor105, 107 can preferably be any custom made or commercially availableprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), an auxiliary processor amongseveral processors, a semiconductor based microprocessor (in the form ofa microchip or chip set), a macroprocessor, or generally any device forexecuting software instructions.

The memory 109, 111 can include any one or combination of volatilememory elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM, such as DRAM, SRAM,SDRAM, etc.)) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, hard drive,tape, CDROM, etc.). Moreover, the memory 109, 111 may incorporateelectronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types of storage media. Notethat the memory 109, 111 can have a distributed architecture, wherevarious components are situated remote from one another, but can beaccessed by the processor 109, 111.

The software and/or firmware in memory 109, 111 may include one or moreseparate programs, each of which comprises an ordered listing ofexecutable instructions for implementing logical functions. In theexample of FIG. 1, the software in the memory 109, 111 includesprogramming for displaying a chat window 136, 138, translation logic110, 112, and a suitable operating system (O/S) 122, 124. The operatingsystem 122, 124 essentially controls the execution of other computerprograms, and provides scheduling, input-output control, file and datamanagement, memory management, and communication control and relatedservices.

The clients 102, 104 are preferably adapted to handle normal IMfunctions that may include handling conversions of IM functions fromvarious protocols into XML-structured information. The clients 102, 104include software applications that assists a user in communicating withcontacts via an IM session. In this regard, the clients 102, 104 may bestored in a personal computer, a handheld computer, a cellular telephonehaving IM capabilities, an i-pager, or any network-compatible device.

The clients 102, 104 include programming for displaying a chat window136, 138 in which a message can be displayed. In an example. User1wishes to have a chat session with User2. Responsive to input fromUser1, a message is displayed in User1's chat window 138, for example,“call me.” The message is sent via a path 140 over the communicationsnetwork 108. IM servers (not shown) of the communications network 108process the chat message and the message is sent via path 142 to User2'sprimary IM processing device 103.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, translation logic 110, 112is configured to translate the English chat message to User#2'spreferred language, for instance Spanish. The chat message “call me” isdisplayed at User#1's chat window 136 in English and at User#2's chatwindow 138 in Spanish as “Ilameme,” which is the Spanish translation of“call me.” The present invention is not limited to translating messagesfrom English to Spanish or Spanish to English, other languages may alsobe translated.

In a preferred embodiment, the translations occur in the client 102, 104utilizing the translation logic 110, 112. In an example. User #1 createsa message that is displayed in User #1's the chat window 136 andsubsequently is routed to User #2 in English. The message is sent touser #2 in English. Assuming User #2 has translation logic 112, themessage is translated by translation logic 112 in User #2's client 104.The translated message is displayed at the display 135 in the preferredlanguage of User #2, for instance Spanish.

In an example, translation logic 110, 112 is preferably configured as adynamic link library having access to a database that includes aplurality of languages. In a preferred embodiment, one example of anacceptable dynamic link library and database of languages is provided byBabblefish.com a division of IMMS corporation of 10 Kimberly Road,Hampstead, N.H. 03841. Preferably, the dynamic link library isconfigured to translate received text into a preferred language selectedby users when the preferred language is included in the library oflanguages in the language database.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a preferred embodiment of anillustrative example of a text message translations system 200. In theexample shown in FIG. 2, two users communicate with each other utilizingIM, however the invention is not limited to only two users. In anexample, the system 200 includes IM clients 102, 104 that includestranslation logic 110, 112 (not shown in FIG. 2), communications network108, routers 202, 204, IM User Agent #1 206, IM User Agent #2 208, IMuser interfaces 210, 212, roster windows 214, 216, chat windows 136,138, and an IM server 218. In an example embodiment, various components102, 104, 136, 138, 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, may be seenas software modules, which are launched by users on a personal computer101, 103 (or other programmable device (not shown)). In anotherembodiment, various components 102, 104, 136, 138, 202, 204, 206, 208,210, 212, 214, 216, may be seen as software objects in a distributednetwork, which are instantiated and destroyed by appropriate softwarecommands. Since instantiation and destruction of objects in distributednetwork is well known, further discussion of object instantiation anddestruction is omitted.

In one embodiment, the various components 102, 104, 136, 138, 202, 204,206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216 of FIG. 2 are software modules on a user'spersonal computer. In this regard, the software modules are installed ona user's personal computer and, thereafter, are launched by users.During installation of the software modules, each user is queried forthe user's login names and passwords for all of the user's IM accounts.The login names and passwords for the user's IM accounts are stored in alogin database (not shown) for subsequent use by the software modules.

Upon installation of the software modules onto the personal computer, auser launches the router 202 (or 204). The router 202, 204 generatescommands to launch the IM user agent 206 (or 208). In a preferredembodiment, the IM user agent 206, 208 performs as a background process.In response to generated commands, the various components 102, 104, 136,138, 202, 210, 212, 214, 216 are launched as background processes.

The router 202, 204 is configured to track communications and routemessages between the IM user agent #1 and #2 206, 208, IM user interface210, 212 and chat windows 102, 104. In this regard, the router 202, 204receives commands from the IM user agent #1, #2 206, 208, chat windows102, 104 and IM user interface 210, 212. Similarly, the router 202, 204generates commands and directs the generated (or received) commands tothe IM user agent #1, #2 206, 208, chat windows 102, 104 and IM userinterface 210, 212. Thus, in a general sense, the router 202, 204receives information (e.g., commands, requests, data, etc.) and directsthe received information to the appropriate software module.

In another embodiment, the various components 102, 104, 136, 138, 202,204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216 of FIG. 2 are objects in a distributednetwork (not shown). In this regard, subsequent to installation of thesoftware modules, when a user launches the router 202, 204, the router202, 204 instantiates the IM user agent #1 206 (or #2 208), IM userinterface 210, 212 and chat window 136, 104, and runs these objects onthe client system (not shown) as background processes.

Regardless of whether the various components 102, 104, 136, 138, 202,204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216 are launched as software modules orinstantiated as distributed objects, once the various components 102,104, 136, 138, 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216 are running asbackground processes, the router 202, 204 launches a IM user interface210, 212. Upon selection of the IM user interface 210, 212, the router202, 204 instantiates the IM user interface 210, 212, which queries theuser for the user's IM login name and password.

The IM user agent 206, 208 receives the login name and password andlooks up the login database (not shown) to determine whether or not thelogin name and password are valid (i.e., whether or not the login nameand password are located in the login database). If the login name andpassword are valid, then the IM user agent 206, 208 retrieves loginnames and passwords for all of the user's IM accounts.

Upon retrieving the login names and passwords of all the user's IMaccounts from the login database, in some embodiments, the IM user agent206, 208 logs into each of the user's IM accounts through an IM server218 using the respective login names and passwords for each of theuser's IM accounts. The logging into various IM accounts through an IMserver is described in detail in U.S. provisional patent applicationSer. No. 60/411,336 and 60/419,613, and U.S. patent application Ser.Nos. 10/274,408, 10/274,478 and 10/274,405, which are incorporatedherein by reference as if set forth in their entireties. Thus, furtherdiscussion of logging into various IM accounts is omitted here.

Upon logging into the various IM accounts, the IM user agent 206, 208obtains Internet presence information for all of the user's IM contactsas described in U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/411,336and 60/419,613 and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/274,408,10/274,478 and 10/274,405, which are incorporated herein by reference asif set forth in their entireties. Thus, further discussion of obtainingpresence information for contacts is omitted here.

Upon logging into the user's various IM accounts and retrieving theInternet presence information of the user's contacts, the IM user agent206, 208 generates a command to the router 202, 204 to display theretrieved IM information. Upon receiving the command to display theretrieved IM information, the router 202, 204 requests the IM userinterface 210, 212 to instantiate a roster window 214, 216 fordisplaying the user's contacts and the contacts' respective IM Internetpresence information. The IM user agent 206, 208 conveys the IMinformation having the contacts' names and contacts' IM Internetpresence information to the router 202, 204. The router 202, 204 furtherconveys the IM information to the IM user interface 210, 212, whichdisplays the IM contact names and their respective IM Internet presenceinformation to the user at the roster window 214, 216. Thus, at thispoint, all of the contacts and their respective IM Internet presenceinformation are available to the user at the roster window 214, 216.

An option that is provided to the user at the roster window 214, 216 isthe option to chat with a contact. In operation, the user's IM contactsand their respective IM Internet presence information are displayed tothe user at the roster window 214, 216. Upon receiving a selection ofone of the IM contacts by the user, the roster window 214, 216 generatesa request, for example request 218, to the IM user interface 210 togenerate a chat window 136, 138. The request 218 includes informationrelated to the selected contact. The IM user interface 210 conveys therequest 220 to the router 202, which receives the request 220 andgenerates a command 222 to the IM user interface 210 to instantiate thechat window 136. The command 222 includes a pointer to the IM user agent206. The IM user interface 210, in response to the command 222 from therouter 202, instantiates the chat window 136. Upon being instantiated,the chat window 136 issues a request 224 to the IM user agent 206 torequest 226 the establishment a chat session with the selected contact,for example a user logged into IM accounts at IM user agent #2 208. Forexample, a request 228 from the IM user agent #1 206 to the router 202can initiate a chat session. Since the initiation of chat sessions atchat windows is well known in the art, further discussion of initiatingchat sessions at chat windows is omitted.

In a preferred embodiment, the system shown in FIG. 2 permits a user toinitiate a chat session and engage in a chat session with any of thecontacts equipped with translation logic 110, 112 regardless of thecontacts' IM account (e.g., BellSouth™ IM account, AOL™ IM account,Yahoo™ IM account, MSN™ IM account, among others). In other embodiments,the chat session occurs between user utilizing IM accounts provided bythe same service provider. Greater details related to IM chatting withvarious contacts at various IM accounts may be found in U.S. provisionalpatent application Ser. No. 60/411,336 and 60/419,613, and U.S. patentapplication Ser. Nos. 10/274,408, 10/274,478 and 10/274,405, which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

A user can establish his or her language preferences utilizing thesystem shown in FIG. 2. In an example, user account data 230 is storedin a suitable storage device and accessible by the IM server 218. In apreferred embodiment, a user establishes his or her language preferencesduring a setup process. In an example, the user setup includesinformation about the user's IM account including user login name andpassword, and language preferences, among other information. In anembodiment, the user account data 230 is stored in a memory (not shown)of the IM server 218. The memory can include any one or combination ofvolatile memory elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM, such as DRAM,SRAM, SDRAM, etc.)) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, harddrive, tape, CDROM, etc.). Moreover, the memory may incorporateelectronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types of storage media. Notethat the memory can have a distributed architecture, where variouscomponents are situated remote from one another, but can be accessed bythe IM server 218.

In a preferred embodiment with users having clients equipped withtranslation logic 110, 112, the IM user interface 210, 212, queries theuser for the user's language preferences. The IM user agent 206, 208receives the user's language preferences and looks up the account data230 and retrieves language preferences for all of the user's IMaccounts. The user is presented with options to modify and savelanguages preferences in a database having the account data 230. Onceestablished, the user's language preferences are set and utilized uponlogin by the user. While a user may modify language preferences whendesired, or when requested by the IM server 218, it is unnecessary toestablish language preferences each time a user instances IM or otherservices. If a user does not select a language preference, a defaultlanguage will be utilized to display messages in the chat window 136,138. In a preferred embodiment, the default language will be English. Itis to be understood that IM user agent #2 208 of client 104 equippedwith translation logic 112 can complete a similar process to establishlanguage preferences. In a preferred embodiment, the user account data230 includes language preferences for senders and receivers of textmessages such that each user receives and displays the text message in aselected preferred language.

Once the user's language preferences are established, upon login, the IMuser agent 206, 208 retrieves the user's language preferences for all ofthe user's IM accounts. The language displayed for each user in theuser's chat window 136, 138 will be the preferred language selected bythe user.

In operation, a message is created by the user utilizing the user'spreferred language. This message is in a source language that isdisplayed at the chat window 136. The message in the source language isrouted through the router 202 and communications network 108 to anotheruser. In some embodiments, only one client includes translation logic110 when a client is communication with another client configured towith another IM service. In an embodiment with each client 102, 104including translation logic 110, 112, the translation logic 110, 112that determines whether the message in the source language is in thesame language as the recipient's preferred language. The recipient'slanguage is also referred to as the destination language. In someembodiments, the language preferences for the destination language havebeen previously established during the setup process and thus, theclient 104 is initialized with the preferred languages. In thisembodiment, the client 102, 104 performs the translations and displaysthe text on the display at 135 in the recipient's preferred language. Inan alternative embodiment when language preferences have not beeninitialized in a client 102, 104, the client 104 having translationlogic 112 sends a request 232 to the router 204, the request 234 goesthrough the communications network 108 as a request 236 to the IM server218. The IM server 218 requests 238 access the user's account in theaccount data 230 to obtain the language preferences for the destinationlanguage. The language preference information 240 is returned to the IMserver 218 and routed 242 to the communications network 108, passed asinformation 244 to the router 204 and passed as information 246 to thechat window 138.

Armed with the information about the source language and the destinationlanguage, the translation logic 112 accesses the language library to getthe destination language, and perform the language translation of themessage from the source language to the destination language. Themessage translated from the source language then displayed in the chatwindow 138 is in the preferred language of the recipient user. A similarprocess is performed when the user at chat window 138 sends a message tothe user at chat window 136, assuming the user at chat window 136 hasthe translation functionality of the present invention's preferredembodiments. However, the language of the user at chat window 136becomes the source language and the language of the user at chat window136 becomes the destination language.

In the environment of a group chat, one message can be sent and receivedin a source language yet translated and displayed in the preferredlanguage of each recipient user. The client for each recipient willperform the functions described above such that the message is displayedin the preferred language for each recipient, assuming the recipientuser has the translation functionality of the present invention'spreferred embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a diagram depicting an illustrative example of a languagepreferences table 302 of a text message translations system. In anembodiment, the table 302 is stored in memory of a database having theuser account data 230. The table 302 includes account information 304and associated primary language information 306 for each user. In theexample shown in FIG. 4, User#1 has selected English as a primarylanguage, User#2 has selected Spanish as a primary language. User #3 hasselected French as a primary language, etc. In an alternativeembodiment, a user may have multiple accounts. The user can select adifferent language for each account. For instance, if User#1 has threeaccounts, User#1 can select English as the primary language for account1, Spanish as the primary language for account 2, and French as theprimary language for account 3.

In an illustrative example, languages supported by the inventioninclude, English, Spanish, French, and German, among others. However,the invention is not limited to these languages. In an example, eachlanguage requires about 10 Mb of memory on the client 102, 104.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an illustrative example of chat window 136in English for IM User #1 of FIG. 1. An illustrative example of chatwindow 138 for User#2 is shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 6, the chatwindow 136 includes a transcript display window 401, a user input window402, a first roster window 404, and a second roster window 406. Thetranscript display window 401 displays IM messages that are typed by allof the participants in the IM chat session. Thus, if Tom, John, Pat,Jane and User #1 are engaged in an IM chat session, then each of themessages typed by the participants is displayed in the transcriptdisplay window 401. The user input window 402 displays the IM messagesthat are being typed by User #1. In this embodiment, the messages aredisplayed in English since IM User #1 has selected English as thepreferred language.

The first roster window 404 shows all of the contacts that are currentlychatting in the chat window 136, while the second roster window 406displays all of the contacts that are present on the Internet. If User#1 chooses to invite a contact from the second roster window 406 to thecurrent chat session in the chat window 136, then User #1 may select thecontact from the second roster window 406 and “drag and drop” thatcontact into the first roster window 404, thereby effectively invitingthat contact into the current chat session. Similarly, if User #1 wishesto remove a currently chatting contact from the IM chat session, thenUser #1 may “drag and drop” that contact from the first roster window404 to the second roster window 406. Thus, as shown with reference toFIG. 4, each of the participants of the IM session may invite or removeparticipants from the current IM chat session by moving the contactsfrom one roster window to the other roster window.

Although chatting between multiple participants from a common IM serviceis known in the art, the embodiment of FIG. 4 permits chatting betweenmultiple participants from different IM services with text displayed inthe preferred language of the recipient. Translations can occur at chatwindows of users of different IM services that include translation logic110, 112, and in such cases, Tom may be using Yahoo IM service, whileJohn is using AOL IM service, while Pat and Tane may each be using MSNIM service as long as these IM services have been modified to includetranslation logic 110, 112.

In operation, when the User #1 types an IM message at the user inputwindow 402, the typed message is converted into the native protocolassociated with each of the other participants' IM service, in addition,as described in FIGS. 1 and 2, the message is translated to therecipient's preferred language before the message is displayed at therecipient's IM chat window, but after being received at the recipient'slocation. Thus, any message typed by User #1 is displayed to each of theother participants in the IM chat session in their preferred language.Similarly, when the other participants type messages from their nativeIM windows, these messages are converted from the native protocols tothe particular IM services' protocol, translated to the preferredlanguage of the recipient, and the translated messages are displayed toUser #1 in English at the IM chat window 401. Conversions to and fromnative protocols is described in detail in U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 60/411,336 and 60/419,613 and U.S. patentapplication Ser. Nos. 10/274,408, 10/274,478, and 10/274,405 which areincorporated by reference herein. Thus, further discussion ofconversions into native protocols is omitted here and again is notnecessary is some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an illustrative example of chat window 138in Spanish for IM User #2 of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 5, the chat window138 includes a transcript display window 501, a user input window 502, afirst roster window 504, and a second roster window 506. The transcriptdisplay window 501 displays IM messages that are typed by all of theparticipants in the IM chat session. Thus, if users Tomas, Juan,Patrico, Juana and Usuario #1 are engaged in an IM chat session, theneach of the messages typed by the participants is displayed in thetranscript display window 501. The user input window 502 displays the IMmessages that are being typed by User #2. In this embodiment, themessages are displayed in Spanish since IM User #2 has selected Spanishas the preferred language.

The first roster window 504 shows all of the contacts that are currentlychatting in the chat window 138, while the second roster window 506displays all of the contacts that are present on the Internet. Similarlyto the features and functions described with respect to FIG. 4 above,User #2 may invite or remove participants from the current IM chatsession by moving the contacts from one roster window to the otherroster window.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart depicting general functionality of a preferredembodiment for implementing a language preference setup in a textmessage translation system. The process begins at 602. At 604, a userlogs into the message translation system. At 606, the user accesses apreferences option in a setup menu. In a preferred embodiment, a userinterface is utilized to display the setup menu. At 608, the useraccesses a languages section of the setup menu. The languages sectionincludes a plurality of languages supported by the message translationsystem. The user access their IM account(s) at 610. In an embodiment,the user will be requested to provide identifying information to accessthe IM account. For example, the user may be requested to provide apassword or other security information to access the IM account. At 612,the user selects a language preference for each IM account. If a userhas multiple accounts, the user may select different languages for eachaccount or select the same language for each account. If the user doesnot select a language for each account, the message translation systemwill utilize English as the default language for the accounts. At 614,the user saves the selected language preferences. At 616, the user exitsthe setup process.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart depicting general functionality of a preferredembodiment for implementing a text message translation system. Theprocess begins at 702. At 704, a user composes a message to be sent toanother user, or users, during a chat session. The preferred language ofthe recipient(s) is identified at 705. In an example, the recipient'sclient including translation logic accesses information on therecipient's language preferences. At 706, the source message istranslated into a preferred language of the destination user(s). At 708,the translated message is displayed in chat windows of the recipients.The process ends at 710.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart depicting more specific functionality of apreferred embodiment for implementing a text message translation. Theprocess begins at 802. At 804, a message is received at a chat window.The message is received in a language of the sender or broadcaster ofthe message. The language of the sender (e.g., the source language) mayor may not be in the preferred language of the recipient (e.g., thedestination language). Preferably, clients have been initialized duringa setup process with information regarding the preferred destinationlanguage. At 806, a determination is made as to whether the sourcelanguage is the same as the preferred destination language. If thesource language is the same as the preferred destination language, at807, the message is displayed at a display device. If the sourcelanguage is not the same as the preferred destination language, in apreferred embodiment, at 812, the client translates the message from thesource language to the destination language. In a preferred embodiment,the client performs a call to a translation engine, such as a dynamiclink library having access to a languages database, and requests themessage string to be translated from the source language to thepreferred destination language. In some embodiments, a request from aclient is sent to an IM server to obtain account data about therecipient user. In an example, the account data includes languagepreferences for each IM account for users. The request from the clientis sent to a router that routes the request through a communicationsnetwork to an IM server. In an alternative embodiment, the clientdirectly interfaces with the IM server. The IM server contains or hasaccess to the account data including language preferences established byusers during a setup process. If the user has not selected a preferredlanguage, English may be utilized as the default language. Upon receiptof the destination language information, the destination languageinformation is routed from the IM server to a communications network toa router and received by the client. The client translates the sourcelanguage into the preferred destination language. At 807, the translatedlanguage in a preferred destination language is displayed at a displaydevice. At 816, a determination is made as to whether another messagehas been received. If yes, the process continues at 806. If no, theprocess ends at 818.

Any process descriptions or blocks in flow charts should be understoodas representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include oneor more executable instructions for implementing specific logicalfunctions or steps in the process, and alternate implementations areincluded within the scope of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention in which functions may be executed out of order from thatshown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverseorder, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understoodby those reasonably skilled in the art of the present invention.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides systems andmethods for a real-time, in-line, bi-directional translation of bothInstant Message and E-mail messages. The present invention provides fortranslating messages into a preferred language of the recipient of themessage before displaying the message. Thus, the recipient can view themessage in a preferred language and does not need to manually translatethe received message.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent invention, particularly, any “preferred” embodiments, are merelypossible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clearunderstanding of the principles of the invention. Many variations andmodifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) of theinvention without departing substantially from the spirit and principlesof the invention. All such modifications and variations are intended tobe included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the presentinvention and protected by the following claims.

Therefore, having thus described the invention, at least the followingis claimed:
 1. A method comprising: receiving a preferred languageidentification for each of a plurality of message accounts associatedwith a first user; associating each preferred language identificationwith a respective one of the plurality of message accounts, each of theplurality of message accounts having a different preferred languageidentification; determining that a source language of an electronicmessage sent via a particular one of the plurality of message accountsfrom the first user to a second user is different from a first preferredlanguage associated with the particular message account; and translatingthe electronic message to the first preferred language.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: outputting the electronic message in thefirst preferred language for display in a transcript window associatedwith the second user.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:receiving a reply message, in a first language, from the second user tothe first user via a specific one of the plurality of message accounts;determining a second preferred language associated with the specificmessage account; and translating the reply message to the secondpreferred language when the first language is not the same as the secondpreferred language.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:outputting the reply message in the second preferred language fordisplay in a transcript window associated with the first user.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: broadcasting the electronicmessage in the first preferred language to a plurality of users in achat session.
 6. The method of claim 3, further comprising: broadcastingthe reply message in the second preferred language to a plurality ofusers in a chat session.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein thetranslating the electronic message is performed using a dynamic linklibrary and an associated language database.
 8. An apparatus comprising:a processor; and a memory to store computer program instructions, thecomputer program instructions when executed on the processor cause theprocessor to perform operations comprising: receiving a preferredlanguage identification for each of a plurality of message accountsassociated with a first user; associating each preferred languageidentification with a respective one of the plurality of messageaccounts, each of the plurality of message accounts having a differentpreferred language identification; determining that a source language ofan electronic message sent via a particular one of the plurality ofmessage accounts from the first user to a second user is different froma first preferred language associated with the particular messageaccount; and translating the electronic message to the first preferredlanguage.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, the operations furthercomprising: outputting the electronic message in the first preferredlanguage for display in a transcript window associated with the seconduser.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, the operations further comprising:receiving a reply message, in a first language, from the second user tothe first user via a specific one of the plurality of message accounts;determining a second preferred language associated with the specificmessage account; and translating the reply message to the secondpreferred language when the first language is not the same as the secondpreferred language.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, the operationsfurther comprising: outputting the reply message in the second preferredlanguage for display in a transcript window associated with the firstuser.
 12. The apparatus of claim 8, the operations further comprising:broadcasting the electronic message in the first preferred language to aplurality of users in a chat session.
 13. The apparatus of claim 10, theoperations further comprising: broadcasting the reply message in thesecond preferred language to a plurality of users in a chat session. 14.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the translating the electronic messageis performed using a dynamic link library and an associated languagedatabase.
 15. A computer readable medium storing computer programinstructions, which, when executed on a processor, cause the processorto perform operations comprising: receiving a preferred languageidentification for each of a plurality of message accounts associatedwith a first user; associating each preferred language identificationwith a respective one of the plurality of message accounts, each of theplurality of message accounts having a different preferred languageidentification; determining that a source language of an electronicmessage sent via a particular one of the plurality of message accountsfrom the first user to a second user is different from a first preferredlanguage associated with the particular message account; and translatingthe electronic message to the first preferred language.
 16. The computerreadable medium of claim 15, the operations further comprising:outputting the electronic message in the first preferred language fordisplay in a transcript window associated with the second user.
 17. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 16, the operations further comprising:receiving a reply message, in a first language, from the second user tothe first user via a specific one of the plurality of message accounts;determining a second preferred language associated with the specificmessage account; and translating the reply message to the secondpreferred language when the first language is not the same as the secondpreferred language.
 18. The computer readable medium of claim 17, theoperations further comprising: outputting the reply message in thesecond preferred language for display in a transcript window associatedwith the first user.
 19. The computer readable medium of claim 15, theoperations further comprising: broadcasting the electronic message inthe first preferred language to a plurality of users in a chat session.20. The computer readable medium of claim 17, the operations furthercomprising: broadcasting the reply message in the second preferredlanguage to a plurality of users in a chat session.